Picker-head.



J. MURPHY. PICKER HEAD. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29. 1916. I LQQAL I 4 Patented June 5,1917.

- 3 SHEETSSHEET I-v J. MURPHY.

PICKER HEAD. nrmcmou mm JUNE 29. I916.

LQQQAJL D Patented June 5,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- .I. MURPHY.

PICKER HEAD. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, I916- Patented June 5, 191?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'M H IIIIIIMHIIIWIHI ,lllL

snares ream WWW;

JOHN MURPHY, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF T0 GEORGE P. SCHLOCKER, 0E. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE.

PICKERJ-IEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 19117.

Application filed June 29, 1916. Serial No. 106,719.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN MURPHna subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Memphis, in the county of Shelby and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvetill ments in Picker-Heads, of which the following is a specification that will enable those'skilled in the art to which the invention pertains to. make, construct, and use the same, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to those pickerheads of cotton-harvesting machines that are used in association with flexible pipes in which suction is maintained to induce movement of fiber picked by the heads therefrom to a receptacle, and it has particular reference to picker-heads in which rotating brushes operate to dislodge the fiber from the bolls.

It is an object of the invention to provide simple and efiicient means, located entirely within the head, whereby there is removed from the brushes'such fiber as may tend to adhere thereto, so that all the picked fiber is rendered easily susceptible of being moved throughthe flexible tube to the place of deposit and the brushes are prevented from becoming clogged and thereby having their picking action retarded.

The invention also provides guard-fingers in association with the picking-brushes for preventing trash and the like from being drawn into the head by the brushes and for assisting in clearing adhered fiber from the brushes.

Further, the invention makes certain other improvements in the details of devices of this character, whereby their eficiency is increased, the facility of use is enhanced, and access may easily be had to the interior for the purpose of cleaning and repair, as will appear from the following explanation of the construction and use of the device.

When read in connection with the description herein, the details of construction and arrangement of parts contemplated by the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings, forming part hereof, wherein an embodiment of the invention is disclosed, for purposes of explanation.

Whilethe disclosures herein now are considered to exemplify a preferable embodi: ment of the invention, it is to be undercotton.

stood that it is not the intention to .be limited necessarily thereto in interpretation of the claims, as alterations and adaptations within the limits of the claims can be made without departing from the nature and spirit of the invention.

Like reference-characters refer to corresponding parts in the views of the drawings, of which Figure 1 is a top view, a portion of the top of the casing being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, a portion of the side of the casing being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a sectional view on the line 4-4, Fig. 1; I Fig. 5 is a sectional View on the line 55, Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line e e, Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a sectional View on the line 77, Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 9 is a view of the receiving end of the head.

Having more particular reference to the drawings, 10 designates a flexible tube leading to a receptacle at one end in a cotton picking machine (not shown), on which latter there is any suitable means whereby suction is induced in the tube to cause movement of picked cotton to the receptacle, the

tube being adapted to be carried in its free end portion by a person engaged in picking The tube at its free end envelops and is held by clamping-rings 11 on a contracted cylindrically-shaped discharge end of a picker-head 12.

The picker-head includes a casing formed of abutting upper and lower sections 12 and 12 held together with a substantially fluid-tight joint in an approximately median plane by the action in laterally-extending 10.0

exterior registering projections 13 of machine-screws 14 or the like. Side walls 15 of the casing widen from each other from a place near the discharge end of the head relation nearly to the entrance of the mouth of the head, and at that end each wall has an inwardly-projecting vertically-disposed and then continue in substantially parallel'105 mouth-wall 17 forms an extension of each ,per and lower bottom walls 20 and 21 continue in substantially parallel relation from the cylindrical portion of the discharge end of the head to a place removed from the entrance of the head, and a lower extensionwall 22 curves downwardly at this place from thelower wall 21 and thence continues in the original direction to the plane of the outer edge of the side mouth-walls 17. From a place removed from the receiving end of upper wall 20 an upper extensionwall 23 extends upwardly and thence continues lengthwise of the head to the plane of the outer edges of the side mouth-walls17. It willbe seen that the side walls 15 and 17 and the lower'and upper extension-walls 22 and 23 comprehend an enlargedmouth of the picker-head, in which the picking mechanism hereinafter described is located; and that the side walls 15 and the upper and lower walls 20 and 21 comprehend a throat smaller than the mouth leading from the rear portion thereof.

The picking mechanism is actuated by a flexible shaft 24 rotated by any suitable means on the picking-machine. There is a boxing 25 on the upper wall 20 of the casing,

and therein is a drive-shaft 26 connected toand rotated by the flexible shaft. A wall 23 extends upwardly from the wall 20 of the casing and thence forwardly'to the wall 23, and these walls inclose a gear and shaft chamber. The drive-shaftextends into this chamber, and it has a pinion 27 fast on its inner portion. i

The pinion 27 is in mesh with a drivegear 28 fast on a counter-shaft 29 extending transversely and horizontally of the upper portion of the head and journaled in the side walls thereof. The gear 28 also is in mesh with a pinion 30 .fast on the end of a vertical shaft 31 centrally positioned acros the entrance of the throat and journaled in boxings 32 at the ends of the upper and .lower walls 20 and 21; and fast on this shaft, between the boxings, there is a clearerwheel 33 having a plurality of radiallyextending clearer-teeth 34 arranged in a plurality of circumferential rows.

The shaft 29 extends outside of one of the side walls 15 of the casing into a gear-,

chamber inclosed by a gear-cover 35 and the side wall, the cover being held in placeby screws or the like 36. A pinion 37 withbrush-shafts 40 and 41 extending trans versely of the mouth of the picker-head and arranged one above the other near the entrance of the mouth between it and the clearer-wheel 33, the axes of the brushshafts being substantially at right angles to the axis of the clearer-wheel shaft. The

shafts 40 and 41 are journaled in bearings 42 formed in and between the abutments 16 and the flanges 18, so that when the side mouth-walls 17 are withdrawnand the gearcover 35 removed the shafts may be taken out, The shafts 40 and 41 carry pickingbrushes 43 and 44, respectively, fast theresectingly toward the clearer-wheel,- and the relative arrangement of the parts is such that during this rotation the axial rows of clusters of one of the brushes slightly intermesh those of the other at a place directly opposite tothe clearer-wheel andin their movement brush against the teeth of that wheel.

In order to prevent entrance into themouth of trash and the like, a plurality of guards 46 extend from the upper and lower walls of the picker-head casing across the entrance between the circumferential rows of brush-clusters. The guards preferably are formed of strong wire loops secured to the casing-walls by screws'47, and the ends of those projecting in one direction nearly contact with those projecting in the other direction at a place opposite to the point of intersection of the brush-clusters.-

When in use and suction being induced in the tube and head and the movable parts being rotated in the directions described, the

of the suction therein and thence through the flexible tube to the receptacle in the machine.

Fiber that may have a tendency to adhere to the brushes is removed therefrom by the clearer-wheel at the entrance of the throat and drawn therefrom through the throat. The successive brush-clusters continuing their revolution continue to engage and pick the cotton fiber.

The guards extending between the circumferential rows of brush-clusters prevent trash and the like from being drawn into the head. Further, the guards operate to loosen from the clusters fiber adhering thereto thatvhas not been removed by the clearer wheel and such fiber thereby is rendered susceptible of being induced into the thrdat.

' Access to the interior of the mouth may interior by separating the upper and lower sections of the head on loosening the fastenings thereof, and such separation may be made either withor without removal of the brushes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a picker-head having a mouth and a throat leading therefrom, the combination of a drive-shaft mounted longitudinally and exteriorly of the head and extending inside thereof, a pinion on the inner portion of said shaft, a drive-gear in mesh with said pinion, a counter-shaft on which said drivegear is fast and mounted transversely of the head, a clearer-wheel shaft mounted substantially at right angles to said countershaft at the entrance of said throat, a clearer-' wheel on said clearer-wheel shaft, a pinion fast on said clearer-wheel shaft in mesh with said drive-gear, oppositely-disposed brushshafts mounted in said mouth substantially at right angles to said clearer-wheel shaft, cooperating brushes on said brush-shafts in contact with said clearer-wheel, gears on said brush-shafts in mesh with each other,

and a gear on said counter-shaft in meshwith one of said brush-shaft gears.

2. A picker-head comprising a casing of abutting separable sections shaped to form a contracted discharge end and an enlarged mouth and a throat smaller than the mouth leading therefrom at the discharge end, rotatable picking-brushes in said mouth, a clearer-wheel in rear ofsaid brushes at the entrance of said throat, and means whereby said brushes and wheel are rotated.

3. A picker-head comprising a casing comprehending a mouth and having opposed walls extending nearly to the entrance of the mouth, abutments at the ends of said walls, and removable opposed" wall-extensions one attached to each of said abutments.

4. A picker-head comprising a casing com .prehending a mouthand having opposed walls extending nearly to the entrance of the mouth, an abutment at the end of each of said walls, a wall-extension for each of said walls, a flange on each of said extensions removably secured to one of said abutments, there being a bearing in and between each pair of abutting abutments and flanges, in combination with a brush-shaft journaled in said bearings, a brush on said shaft and means whereby said shaft is rotated.

5. A picker-head comprising a casing shaped to form a contracted discharge end and an enlarged mouth and a throat smaller than the mouth leading therefrom to the discharge end, rotatable picking-brushes in said mouth, a clearer-wheel at the entrance of said throat in rear of and having its axis in a plane substantially at right angles to the axes of said brushes, and means whereby said brushes and wheel are rotated.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

- JOHN MURPHY. 

